Which GPS watches do you guys recommend?
When I'm swimming in open water, I want to know the straight-line distance of the course. I'm not nearly as interested in how much extra I ended up swimming by veering off course. That's an interesting data point, but I don't get credit for the extra distance in a race, so I don't count it in training either.
Because of that, I don't care too much about the swim correction feature. I'm fine if the data ends up with a bunch of zig-zags. As long as I can hit lap to pinpoint landmarks on the course, I can figure out the straight-line distance in Google Earth.
I do care about how quickly it can get a signal.
A lot of my triathlete buddies have the Garmin 310XT. That seems to have a bunch of features I don't need. Plus, I think it's really ugly. I truly hate the idea of spending that much money on a humongous gray and orange watch.
The reviews I read on Timex and Polaris GPS watches don't look that great--I see a lot of complaints about them being slow to connect and the software being a pain to use. Have any of you had good experiences with them? What about lower-end Garmin models?
If I did break down and get the 310XT, would I ever even be wearing it on my wrist, or would I have to wear it under my cap?
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I have the Garmin 205 now, but I'm not having very good luck with it so far. Here's what I've tried:
I took it with me in the car. It worked exactly as I would have expected. When I exported the data into Google Earth, I could see my path from home to Trader Joe's and back. (Pretty exciting, I know)
I put it in a ziploc bag under my cap for a race. It only captured the start point. (I have it set to Auto Lap on the Start Point and any time I hit Lap. In this case, I never hit Lap.) I heard it beep several times near the end, I imagine because it was loosing its signal.
I've tried it under my cap in the pool three times. The results were pretty much the same each time. I hit Start when I started swimming, Lap at the opposite wall, and swam 12 slow (mostly drill) lengths, no flip turns. I heard it beep several times, always near the far wall.
Garmin Training Center: It shows 6 laps (I would have expected 12), but the distribution is bizarre. Screenshot is attached.
Google Earth: I only see Laps 1,2 and 6. The only path it saved is between Laps 1 and 2. Image is attached.
I'd love to get this working for my race on Saturday--any advice is appreciated.
I have the Garmin 205 now, but I'm not having very good luck with it so far. Here's what I've tried:
I took it with me in the car. It worked exactly as I would have expected. When I exported the data into Google Earth, I could see my path from home to Trader Joe's and back. (Pretty exciting, I know)
I put it in a ziploc bag under my cap for a race. It only captured the start point. (I have it set to Auto Lap on the Start Point and any time I hit Lap. In this case, I never hit Lap.) I heard it beep several times near the end, I imagine because it was loosing its signal.
I've tried it under my cap in the pool three times. The results were pretty much the same each time. I hit Start when I started swimming, Lap at the opposite wall, and swam 12 slow (mostly drill) lengths, no flip turns. I heard it beep several times, always near the far wall.
Garmin Training Center: It shows 6 laps (I would have expected 12), but the distribution is bizarre. Screenshot is attached.
Google Earth: I only see Laps 1,2 and 6. The only path it saved is between Laps 1 and 2. Image is attached.
I'd love to get this working for my race on Saturday--any advice is appreciated.
